the growing outbreak to the address at a hearing on capitol hill this morning. too accommodating? the opening day at the trial of erin andrews. why did hotel staff agree to let a man who turned out to be her stalker book the room next to hers? >> this is dangerous. it's a red flag. you don't go, fine. >> why the hotel claims it did nothing wrong. today, wednesday, february 24th, 2016. >> announcer: from nbc news, this is "today" with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. good morning, everybody. welcome to "today" on a wednesday morning. it's willie again for matt. day three of the flu for mr. lawyer lauer. >> we hope he's feeling okay. feel better, matt. donald trump with a massive

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>> commanding win. it was a landslide for trump. he dominated every key voting block, giving him more momentum heading into super tuesday next week. >> the race for second place, another nail biter. marco rubio edging out cruz, with a few more votes yet to be counted. >> we'll talk to donald trump and senator rubio a moment from now. let's start with the weather. a powerful storm system spawning tornadoes from louisiana to florida overnight. more is expected today. let's go to nbc's jacob rascon. he's in convent, louisiana, 50 west of new orleans. what's the situation? >> behind me is what used to be a mobileome park. now, just a pile of rubble. two people killed here alone, more than 30 hospitalized, 7 critically. now, the search is on for those who may be trapped in the

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>> reporter: a desperate search for survivors. hope nearly lost. 150 mobile homes ripped to shreds. trucks twisted like toys. a neighborhood wiped off the map. louisiana governor edwards, stunned. >> this was probably the worst area that that tornado could have hit. it's just -- the destructive power of this tornado is awful. >> have you ever seen anything like it? >> i have not. >> reporter: dozens were injured, many pulled from the rubble barely alive. >> we're asking for calm in this area, for prayers. we need that. the community needs that. >> reporter: 19 million people were at risk during round one of the massive winter storm. from golf-ball sized hail in texas to blinding rain and more than a dozen twisters in several states. all the way to pensacola, florida, where this neighborhood took a direct hit. >> we just held on to each other and said, maybe we'll make it.

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i mean, it was very, very scary. very. >> reporter: there were overturned semi trucks, a gutted gym and howard, who saw it go right past him. nobody is giving up yet in convert, louisiana. in the air and on the ground, wondering if this is surviveablesurvivable. >> some of the mobile homes were thrown blocks from where they originally stood. incredible stories of survival. the seven people critically injured remain hospitalized. the search will continue for the two to three people later this morning. savannah? >> jacob rascon, thank you. now al is here with what you can expect today. the storms have covered a wide swath of territory. >> this is what we were worried about. you can't see it to verify them. instead, you have to go by radar and that's what we were concerned about. this is the certain time this season we have seen this. a winter storm and severe weather.

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the subtropical, stronger subtropical yet, makejet, making for a stormy coast. you can see from georgia and south carolina, all the way to florida, we have tornado watches in effect. for today, we are under the gun for central north carolina. tornadoes very likely here. possible wind gusts of up to 70 miles per hour. this is going to be pushing to the east. this morning, the southeast is under it. they're going to see the heavy thunderstorm. later this morning, the mid-atlantic gets into the act. we're going to see the winds increasing. the rain, as well. highest threat for the costal areas, the mid-atlantic and the northeast. rainfall amounts, 1 to 3 inches of rain. we've got flood watches for 12 million people at risk from georgia all the way to new england. in a bit, we'll talk about the winter side of this. we have blizzard wardennings in effect now. >> thank you. now to the other big story of the morning. donald trump storming to victory

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heels of his wins in south carolina and new hampshire. momentum is clearly on his side. super tuesday, all important, just six days away now. we're going to talk to mr. trump live in a moment. let's begin this morning's coverage with nbc's national correspondent peter alexander. good morning to you. >> good morning to you. donald trump delivering another decisive victory herere fueled by another record turnout. trump dominating among voters looking for a political outsider who tells it like it is. just as striking as what happened overnight, after the results came in. the cruz, rubio and kasich campaigns sent out e-mails blasting eacac other, not a single one targeting trump. >> we love nevada. we love nevada. thank you. >> reporter: here in vegas, donald trump hit another jackpot. the billionaire cashing in his third straight win. >> if you win to the pundits, we weren't expected to win too much and now we're winning, winning,

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>> reporter: focusing on victories in kedemy demographics. >> we won with young, with old, highly educated, poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> reporter: dueling to be the trump alternative, cruz trails rubio in the battle for second. >> the only campaign that has beaten donald trump and the only campaign that can beat donald trump is this campaign. >> reporter: across nevada, the wild west lived up to its name. the chaotic caucuses coming under criticism before the voting was complete, with complaints on social media. one man saying it was a disaster. another reporting yelling and screaming. caucus workers wearing pro trump swag that party officials say is allowed. meanwhile, with super tuesday approaching, the trump-cruz feud is intensifying. the front runner pouncing on cruz for his decision to fire a top aide.

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soft, weak, little baby. >> reporter: cruz sarcastically praiseing trump for showing grace. >> we have to elect someone who is not just angry but someone who will make a difference and someone who will win. >> reporter: for the establishment, time is running out. march 15th, contests are winner take off. a strong second isn't worth a thing. >> it'll be an amazing two months. we might not eveneed the two months, folks, to be honest, all right? >> now, the republican race for the nomination excel rateaccelerates. 11 states voting next week, including cruz's home state of texas. the senator simply trying to stay alive, telling supporters it'll be thehe most important night of his campaign. savannah and willie?

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marco rubio is with us from michigan where he held a rally last night. good morning, sir. >> good morning. >> there have been these four republican contests. donald trump has won three of them. we've seen the field of candidates narrow. yet, this dynamic seems to be the same. you've got you and ted cruz and some of the other candidates fighting each other, and trump sailing to victory. lot of republicans asking this morning, why not take on trump directly? what's your answer to that? >> yeah, first of all, you need to take everything we've applied, the lessons of every other campaign before and throw them out the window. this is an unusual year and an unusual process. the nevada caucuses, by the way, are atypical. i respect nevada very much. last night, that was different than the rest of the country. here's the bottom line fact, the vast and overwhelming majority of republicans don't want donald trump to be our nominee. it's evidenced by the fact your poll last week showed if it came

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beat him by 16 points. we have a dynamic where as long as there are four people running, dividing up the non-trump vote, you'll get results like last night. the sooner we can narrow the race down, the easier it'll be to stop donald trump. >> sorry to interrupt. some candidates dropped out and we've seen donald trump grow his numbers. you say nevada is an outliarer but he got 46% of the vote last night. >> mitt romney got over 50% in the last caucus in nevada, with the same number of candidates in the race. as i said, it's a state that's always delivered something like that, or along those lines. i love nevada. we did well and picked up delegates there last night and moved on. one candidate dropped out between saturday and today and that's governor bush. i think you'll see more of that happening over the next few days and weeks. as that happens, i think we're only going to get stronger. you've seen a growing number of people joining our effort. we're the only ones in the race that can unite the republican

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it's how we'll win in november. >> i'm channelling republicans and conservatives who like you and support you but are frustrated you're not specifically going after donald trump, and you seem more focused on ted cruz. their concern seems to be by the time you get rid of ted cruz, if that is the strategy, it'll be too late. donald trump will have too many states and too many delegates. why not go at donald trump right now? >> first of all, i haven't heard that. i talk to people all day. i go to rallies all the time and don't have voters begging me to attack anyone. second, i think it's a media narrative. a lot of people want to see republicans attacking each other because it makes for good television. i'm not in the race to attack anyone. >> forgive the interruption, but you've been going after cruz. >> i'm responding to ted cruz. if i'm attacked, i'm going to respond and set the record straight. in the case of ted cruz, he's repeatedly made things up about me and we've had to clear the air and point to the fact he's making things up. if you recall in the last

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w. bush is responsible for 9/11. i corrected him in a firm way in front of the entire nation. when instances liegs ss like that arise, i won't hesitate to point out our differences or things i disagree with. i didn't run for office to tear up other republicans. i'm going to tell people who i am and why i'm running. i'll give them a choice. if they elect me, they'll have someone who unifies the party, grows this party, governs this country responsibly, deals with our challenges, and i will be a president for all americans. even the people that don't agree with us. i'll try to bring the country together as best i can. >> senator marco rubio, always good to get your time. >> thanks, senator. >> thank you. now we have donald trump on the phone. he, of course, won the nevada caucuses last night. congratulations on your win, sir. >> thank you very much. >> you came kind of close to nomination last night. you said, it'll be an amazing two months and might not even take two months. clearly, you're feeling good. is this nomination yours to lose at this point? >> i don't know.

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i can only say we're doing really well. we have tremendous numbers out of the different states we're going to this coming week. if you look at georgia and texas, where we have a real good shot. you look at some of them down the line, i think we have amazing numbers. i think we'll do very well in ohio, tennessee, arkansas. we're looking at really great numbers. i hope we do well. >> mr. trump, we just talked to senator rubio. he's criticized for not going after you more directly. it strikes me he's the one guy you haven't really gone after. you've gone after many of the others in the field and many aren't in the race anymore. when it's time to go after senator rubio, what will be your line of criticism with him? >> i wouldn't want to tell you. so far, he's been very nice and i've been nice to him. we haven't been in that mode yet, but probably it'll happen. if it doesn't happen, that would be a wonderful thing. it would be very nice. there is a possibility that will happen. >> as you look at his record and

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states senator, what are your impressions? >> he's somewhat inexperienced, young, nice guy. we'll be talking about it at the right time if it comes up. so far, really, it hasn't come up. i've been accusing senator cruz of doing pretty bad things, namely, lying. i've never seen anybody like this. i've dealt with much, much tougher people over my lifetime, but i have never dealt with anybody that will lie like he lies. >> why go after cruz if rubio is the one who seems to be doing better in the polls and getting closer to you? granted, not close if you look at nevada's results last night. >> that only happened last night. really, cruz was second. it looks like rubio is now looking like he's going to be second, based on last night. >> why do you think senator rubio hasn't gone after you? many republicans think somebody has to take you on. this has to become a one on one race. we talked to him about it. he hasn't done that.

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do you think he's -- he fears takes you on? >> maybe because 14 people went after me and 14 people now officially are gone. i don't know. i mean, i seem to have a good track record when they do go after me. he's been very nice, and i think i've been respectful to him. we'll see what happens. it could always change. it's changed on a number of occasions. other people have been that way and we go at it. so far, i have an unblemished track record. maybe he looks at that. i'm not sure. you'll have to ask him that question. >> we heard you in a piece a few minutes ago calling ted cruz a little baby. you talked about wanting to punch a protester who was misbehaving at one of your events. you said when you become president, you'll change your tone and temperament. i'm watching how well you're doing. how your life has gone with the tone and temperament. why would you change that if it's working so well for you? >> i have to tell you, maybe i shouldn't be changing it too much. the protester was out of line. he was hitting people, screaming

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wanted to hear what i was saying. he was screaming horribly. the cops were so gentle, how they took him out. he had a big smile on his face, waving to the people. they were booing him. he should have been out on a stretcher but they couldn't touch him. it's disgraceful. nevertheless. >> that style has worked well for you in your life. why change it when you become president? >> ihink i might tone it down a little bit. i was against -- we had a total of 17 people and now we're down to 6. i may very well change it. right now, it seems to be working pretty well. >> donald trump, thank you for your time. appreciate it. >> thank you very much. while republican voters caucused across nevada, hillary clinton and bernie sanders were taking part in a town hall in south carolina. ahead of saturday's democratic primary there. nbc's kristen welker is in columbia for us. good morning.

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senator sanders is trying to blunt secretary clinton's momentum. on tuesday, they traded sharp jabs at the town hall here. one of the most heated moments came when clinton was asked about transcripts on the speeches she gave to wall street. >> why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else? >> reporter: tough questions tuesday night. hillary clinton, again, pressed about releasing transcripts of her paid goldman sachs speeches. >> if people are going to ask for things, everybody should be on a level playing field. >> reporter: clinton vowing to release her transjipts scripts when others follow suit. giving sanders an opening. >> i am happy to release my paid speeches to wall street. here, chris. there ain't none. >> reporter: tuesday's ruling by a federal judge, her top aides should be questioned about the e-mail server. >> it's not going to have any lasting effect. it. >> reporter: for his part,

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controversial comments he made in 1974, saying he wanted to abolish the cia. >> the cia plays an important role. have they done things which they should not have done on behalf of the united states government? absolutely. >> reporter: both candidates used the night to couou critical african-american voters. clinton asked about beyonce's super bowl halftime show, which angered some police departments, by p ping tribute to the black lives matter movement. >> we have to figure out how we're going to lift up the good practices, reform policing, provide more support. >> reporter: sanders slammed the movement against the president, including donald trump. >> my dad came from poland. i'm running for president and no one asked for my birth certificate certificate. maybe it's the color of my skin. >> reporter: clinton brushing off her fumbled response to a question about lying to the american public. >> i don't believe i ever have. i don't believe i ever will. >> say no!

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>> is that a question that you would like another shot at answering? >> i'll just say no. >> both candidates also expressed their support for president obama's plan to close guantanamo. today, clinton will campaign in south carolina, while sanders will hold a news conference here and then go to super tuesday's stage, where he may have a bigger shot at winning. >> thanks so much. now to washington. new developments in the ongoing battle over the u.s. supreme court. senate majority leader mitch mccomemc mcconnell said his party won't meet with thee nominees presented by president obama. he said the president has a right to nominate, but the senate has rights, as well. al has the rest of the forecast.

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fruit. nuts. silky smooth dark chocolate. revel in the pleasure of new dove fruit and nut. flash flood watches and wind advisories are covering the area today through tonight as showers and thunderstorms pass through with potentially damaging high winds. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be cloudy, windy, showers and thunderstorms likely. a 100% chance of rain. high today of 63. ese winds 15-25+. asheville, hendersonville will have showers and thunderstorms likely, a 100% chance of rain, high of 63. winds from the southeast 10-25+. colder overnight with lows in the low to mid 30s, the

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mix early morning, the emotional start to erin andrews' $75 million lawsuit, after she was secretly recorded behind closed doors. did the hotel ignore red flags that put her stalker in the room next door? more signs the zika virus is spreading in the u.s. the cdc investigating 14 potential new cases this morning.

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i-85... near the north carolina border is impacting the morning commute on both sides of the highway. allyson powell is our traffic center with more. accident on i-85 in blacksburg is affecting both north and south bound traffic around mm 102. and in powdersville on highway 153. accident on i-85 in blacksburg is affecting both north and south bound traffic around mm 102. and in powdersville on highway 153. hollywild animal park - wants to

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but that can't happen - without you. following a devastating fire.. bad weather.. and criticism from peta.. the park is at a crossroads. without a commitment from the community - the park, which is a non-profit, could be forced to close. hollywild needs to raise 500-thousand dollars in 2016. the park has never done a full-fledged fundraising campaign. hollywild is holding a forum at 8:30am this morning at the spartanburg area chamber of commerce.... to meet with members of the community who want to share their suggestions, opinions or support. --------------- dale, flash flood watches and wind advisories are covering the area today through tonight as showers and thunderstorms pass through with potentially damaging high winds. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be cloudy, windy, showers and thunderstorms likely. a 100% chance of rain. high today of 63. ese winds 15-25+. asheville, hendersonville will have showers and thunderstorms likely, a 100% chance of rain, high of 63. winds from the southeast 10-25+. colder overnight with lows in the low to mid 30s, the mountains could get a rain/snow mix early thursday. clearing and

change does not roll in on the wheels of inevitability. bernie sanders. he was there when dr. king marched on washington. unafraid to challenge the status quo to end racial profiling, take on police misconduct, and take down a system that profits from mass imprisonment. there is no president who will fight harder to end institutional racism. education. opportunity. reform. bernie.

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7:30. it's wednesday morning, february 24th, 2016. kind of that day here in new york city, actually all across the country. high winds, heavy rains, al is saying he has winter to talk about. doesn't sound good. >> no, it's not. >> we'll hear more about the storms coming up. let's look at the headlines. three in a row for donald trump. cruising to victory in nevada last night. picking up nearly half of all the votes cast. >> of course, if you listen to the pundits, we aren't expected to win too much and now we're winning, winning, winning the country. [ applause ] soon, the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. >> senator marco rubio edging

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another day of severe weather across the south. overnight, at least three people were killed. more than 30 others injuries when tornadoes touched down in louisiana and mississippi. more were reported in florida. a small passenger plane that went down in bad weather in nepal has been found. it was still burning when located. all 23 people on board were killed. sports reporter erin andrews is back in court today after an emotional opening to her $75 million lawsuit against a hotel and the man secretly filming her in her room. >> reporter: you can see it on erin andrews' face, sitting in court, reliving the experience, when she got the call her lawyer said she'll never forget. >> erin, you're on the internet. without any clothes on. do you know that? she just totally comes apart. >> reporter: now, eight years later, she's suing michael barrett, the man who stalked her and took the video, along to the

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for $75 million. claiming the hotel was nejgligent and could have presentvented it from happening. barrett called the hotel and asked if she'd be staying there. >> first red flag. >> reporter: then the lawyer says, barrett called the reservation center, which abbreviates a note. guest request next to erin andrews. >> why is a person making a request like that? it's dangerous. it's a red flag. you don't go, fine. >> reporter: but he got the room next door. according to the complaint, barrett removed and altered the peephole of andrews' hotel room door and reported video of her changing and/or getting dressed without her consent or knowledge. >> counsel is trying to try my clients, who were trying to provide a hotel room to their guest, to a criminal stalker. and they're not.

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hotel company told injury yours sinjury jurors what happened to andrews was terrible but not the hotel's fault. barrett is responsible. >> these people did not take a phone call from some stranger wanting to be in a room next to erin andrews and put him there. he deceived. he connived. he stalked. that's what mr. barrett did. >> reporter: barrett pleaded guilty to stalking and shooting the nude videos and served 30 months in prison. now free, he will testify in this civil case by video. andrews is expected to take the stand to tell her side of the story. for "today", morgan rad fordford, nbc news. al is busy tracking strong storms this morning. >> we'll talk about the winter side of this thing. i mean, we've got winter storm warnings, advisories, blizzard warnings, stretching from northern arkansas all the way up into michigan. 20 million people at risk.

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snowfall amounts, 1 to 2 inches per hour. let me tell you, the distance of this track, 50 miles either way is going to affect the snowfall. weather is getting into chicago now, st. louis, all the way back to almost arkansas. what we look for as far as snowfall amounts. upwards of a foot or more north of detroit, saginaw. south bend, illinois. also, parts of illinois are going to be looking at this, as well. st. louis, 2 to 4. chicago, 2 to 6. flint, 8 to 14. south bend, 10 to 16 inches of snow. that's what's going on around advisories are covering the area today through tonight as showers and thunderstorms pass through with potentially damaging high winds. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be cloudy, windy, showers and thunderstorms likely. a 100% chance of rain. high today of 63. ese winds

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hendersonville will have showers and thunderstorms likely, a 100% chance of rain, high of 63. winds from the southeast 10-25+. colder overnight wit >> that's your latest weather. willie? >> al, thanks a lot. the cdc is investigating 14 new reports of zika here in the united states. that's leading to a new warning for anyone who has traveled to hot zones fort vie ss for the virus. tom costello has more. >> so far, only two definitive cases have been confirmed but the cdc says 14 suspected cases involve men who had traveled to zika areas and spread the virus through sexual contact once they came home. >> reporter: the cdc's announcement raising the level of concern, whether the zika virus might find new victims here in the united states. nationwide so far, health authorities report 82 cases in 21 states, plus d.c. now, 14 new reports of a zika virus possibly transmitted

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>> in each of the episodes, a man was traveling to a zika-affected area, developed symptoms that were consistent with zika, and within two weeks of the man's symptoms, the female partner developed symptoms consistent with zika virus. >> reporter: the cdc reports it's working to determine exactly how long the virus can remain active in a person's system and still be transmitted to a sexual partner. worldwide, more than 30 countries are on the cdc's list of zika-infected areas. women who are pregnant or might become pregnant should avoid the areas. the cdc is urging all men who have been to zika areas to abstain from sex when they return to the u.s. or use condoms, especially if their partner might be pregnant. >> take the appropriate precautions so that they don't zika infection and they might be

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that would be tragic. >> reporter: as nbc saw firsthand in brazil, families are coping with caring for their children diagnosed with microacceptmicro microcephaly microcephaly, the birth defect associated with small heads and brains, thought to be linked to the virus. it's causing anxiety for the summer. some athletes said they might avoid the games altogether. latin america and the caribbean in a race to stop the spread, while no vaccine leaves more people potentially at risk. >> again, the big warning this morning, if you have travelled to a country on the zika warning list or your sexual partner has, the stakes here could beeery high. you may want to talk to your doe doctor or health care provider. >> the 14 reported cases are the ones we know about. is the cdc worried this may be the tip of the iceberg? >> absolutely. that's certainly the case. thousands of people travel to and from the caribbean and latin

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of men who travel there, if they're bitten by the mosquito, their spouses or partners back home could be at an increased risk. as we've reported, in most people, the zika symptoms are no mild, they might never know they were infected. but the risk for unborn babies is very significant. >> tells you something, the cdc went public with this to begin with. thanks so much. coming up, a rare interview with donald trump's wife. does she think her husband has gone too far on the campaign trail? a florida woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her husband. she testifies for the first time and why she says it was all an act. binge eating disorder, or b.e.d.,... ...isn't just overeating. it's a real medical condition. and while the exact cause is unknown... ...certain chemicals in the brain may play a role. b.e.d. is also the most... ...common eating disorder in us adults. hi, i'm monica seles. when i binged,... ...i wasn't in control. i never felt satisfied... ...no matter what the quantity was.

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the more they get out. johnson's . so much more we're back at 7:43 with a new twist in a bizarre story we've been following for nearly seven years. >> it's about a florida woman accused of trying to hire a hit man to kill her then-husband. on tuesday, she testified in the case for the first time. natalie has been following it. >> good morning. she took the stand, claiming she's innocent. she says it was all an acting project that got way out of hand. >> reporter: dalia breaking down after taking the stand for the first time in her own bedefense. the two-hour long questioning centered around this undercover surveillance video, allegedly

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hitman to murder her husband michael. >> reporter: dippolito's defense, she thought it was a taping for an unnamed reality tv show. >> that's what mama toldhe told you to say, right? >> yes, he told me to say it. >> 5,000% sure? >> i needed to project confidence. he told me i needed to make it look believable. >> reporter: the hit man was actually an undercover police officer, filming the whole thing as part of a sting operation. >> i'm sorry to tell you, man, he's been killed. >> reporter: also caught on camera, police outside a staged crime scene at the couple's home. di be, dippolito's reaction to her husband's staged murder seen

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>> we received a call related to a woman who wanted to hire a hit man to kill her husband. >> reporter: she stands by her story. >> you made that up? >> yeah. >> it was part of the script? >> yeah. >> reporter: in her 2011 trial, dippolito was found guilty and has been under house arrest ever since. now she's gearing up for another trial, as it was determined the jurors had been tainted. >> i don't care what you saw in the video between dalia and the undercover informant. the fact of the matter is, any criminal investigation requires integrity. this was not a criminal investigation. dalia dippolito was set up, trapped. >> reporter: in response, the police department says, we stand behind the principled work our detectives did on this investigation. we trust in our state attorney to successfully prosecute this case. and we're confident we have given his office sufficient

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her ex-husband is staying quiet for now. for him, this is no act. it's a real-life drama, giving new meaning to the words, "until death do us part." >> dippolito's attorneys are urging the judge to dismiss the case. a ruling is expected in the coming weeks. it's intriguing. >> thank you. just ahead, love it or fear it. the most advanced robot in existence and why you probably shouldldt mess with it. >> i'm going to go fear it, right away.

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you're unpacking already? yeah, help me find some mugs. sure. (beep) hey... o.k. they'll do. wake up to the mountain grown aroma of folgers. the best part of wakin' up so, where do you want to start? i think this is a pretty good place. is folgers in your cup we brought you here today to get your honest opinion about this new car. to keep things unbiased, we removed all the logos. feels like a bmw. reminds me a little bit of like an audi. so, this car supports apple carplay. siri, open maps. she gets me. wow. it also has teen driver technology. it even mutes the radio until the seat belts are buckled. i'm very curious what it is. this is the 2016 chevy malibu. and it sells for? it starts at twenty-two five. what? oh wow. i mean with all this technology.

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not yet. not yet! pull the peach! mmmm, yoplait. what if there was another way to look at relapsing multiple sclerosis? this is tecfidera. tecfidera is not an injection. it's a pill for relapsing ms that has the power to cut relapses in half. imagine what you could do with fewer relapses. tecfidera may cause serious side effects,

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pml, which is a rare brain infection that usually leads to death or severe disability, and decreases in your white blood cells. the most common side effects are flushing and stomach problems. tell your doctor about any low white blood cell counts, infections, any other medical conditions, or if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant, or are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. learn more about the most prescribed pill for relapsing ms in the us, at tecfidera.com. talk to your doctor about tecfidera, and take another look at relapsing ms. we're back at 7:50 on a drizzling morning in new york city with exclusive news from facebook. carson, what do you have for us? >> guys, come on in. for months, we've been hearing rumors that a big change is coming to facebook's like button. ladies and gentlemen, that day is finally here. this morning, we are proud to announce exclusively the reaction buttons are available

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over the next few days, they'll roll out to all facebook users. i'll show you what this means here. you can like a post. well, now you can love, ha ha, wow, sad or angry. that's right. make sure your app is up to date. here's a video that shows you how easy it is. gently touch the like button and the other reaction buttons pop up. select the one you want. by the way, this reminds me, al, i was on your page and loved these photos of you at the san diego zoo. i'll show you how it works. i'll go to like, over here to ha ha, boom. >> boom! >> ought to do your page here, carson. i'm on your page. >> what did you like? >> you have a little crock-pot action. >> chili. >> i'm going to go with wow. >> well, thank you. chili was hot. >> i love it. how they dance and move around. >> i like that, yeah. it's animated. >> head to today.com to find out how they landed on the six

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in honor of wrangler wednesday, which i've got here somewhere, here it is, we're going to go ahead if you go to the today show page and like that, because it is wrangler wednesday, you'll see wrangler live streaming. that's the action this morning. it'll be more action packed than that. >> come on, wrangler, do something! >> we've got new reaction buttons. you have to get excited. >> come on, wrangler. >> wrangler has one reaction button. >> show us your wow, wrangler. >> huge news for facebook users

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glad to give it to you we offered women a mystery beauty treatment. right now? yeah! that sounds great! could they guess what it was? very rich and smooth. really creamy. i keep touching my face. so what had we used? what?! wait! just water was added to this? my skin definitely feels much more radiant. that sense of having like smooth dewy skin only dove has 1/4 moisturizing cream for smoother, more radiant skin. dove, your daily beauty

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humira for more than ten years. humira works for many adults. it targets and helps to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to ra symptoms. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened, as have blood, liver and nervous system problems, serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. talk to your doctor and visit humira.com.

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at 757..... some power outages to report this morning.. duke energy reports about 65 hundred outages in north carolina. the majority in macon county. over 35 hundred outages there... crews are still accessing the damage. buncombe, graham and haywood counties all hovering around the 300 duke reports only 30 outages in the upstate. 28 of those are in greenwood county. also this morning... an overturned tractor trailer on i-85 near the north carolina border.....is making a mess of things.....allyson powell has more in our traffic center overturned tractor trailer has both inside lanes of i- 85 closed near mm 102 in blacksburg. and an accdient on i-385 south bound near woodruff road. flash flood watches and wind advisories are covering the area today through tonight as showers and thunderstorms pass through with 85 closed near mm 102 in blacksburg. and an accdient on i-385 south bound near woodruff road.

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advisories are covering the area today through tonight as showers and thunderstorms pass through with potentially damaging high winds. greenville, spartanburg, anderson will be cloudy, windy, showers and thunderstorms likely. a 100% chance of rain. high today of 63. ese winds 15-25+. asheville, hendersonville will have showers and thunderstorms likely, a 100% chance of rain, high of 63. winds from the southeast 10-25+. colder overnight with lows in the low to mid 30s, the mountains could get a rain/snow mix early thursday. clearing and cooler thursday, highs of 42 to

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you're hot and you're cold yes then you're no in then you're out 8:00 on "today". coming up -- secrets to successful sleep. how the temperature of your bedroom could be costing you a good night's rest. we'll have the do's and don't's to catching the best zs. plus, ready for takeoff. >> i'm ready. >> you're ready? let's do it. >> inside carson's internship at the airport. >> going to the lounge and maybe have a cocktail? >> no, you're not. >> will his new career get off the ground? kevin spacey in the house. >> we had a future until you started destroying it. >> back at it as the commander in chief that everybody loves to hate in the highly anticipated

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today, wednesday, february 24th, 2016. hey, y'all >> hey! >> first time in new york city. >> from ft. worth, texas. >> with our friends from 35 years. >> waking up to the "today" show. >> we've been fans for 50 years. good morning, everybody. welcome back to "today". a little bit of a drizzling morning out here on our plaza. a rainy one all across the northeast today. willie is here for matt. he has the flu pretty darn bad. has he ever called in sick in 20 years? >> not like this. >> i had this flu a couple weeks ago. i was in bed for four days. i hope he gets better. >> sending him a hug and hopefully he can come back

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>> don't come back until you're ready, pal. >> exactly. take a hot, hot shower before you do. coming up in honor of this gentleman, wrangler, we'll help you pick the right pet for your family. >> first, a check of the top stories with natalie. >> good morning. the battle for second place providing the only drama overnight after tuesday's nevada republican caucuses. donald trump easily claims victory. hallie jackson is in las vegas for us. good morning. >> good morning, natalie. right now, it's marco rubio leading ted cruz for second in a race we now know had record turnout, giving donald trump the momentum. >> reporter: it's yet another trump triumph. >> we're winning, winning, winning. >> reporter: and a sweeping one. donald trump taking the top spot with men and women, with every age group, with evangelicals. >> we won the evangelicals. we won with young. we won with old.

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we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> reporter: a three-peat for trump. time running out for his rivals to stop him. >> you look at some of them down the line, and they have amazing numbers. >> reporter: at ted cruz's campaign, the alarm going off. literally. not lost on them, he's under pressure to perform on super tuesday when 11 states cast ballots. cruz doing nothing to down play the day. >> one week from today will be the most important night of this campaign. one week from today is super tuesday. >> reporter: that's when cruz needs a victory in texas to add to his first-place finish in iowa. his argument? he's the only one who has beaten donald trump, as his campaign hits marco rubio hard for not doing the same. rubio speaking out this morning on "today" on the state of the race and how to beat the front runner. >> this is an unusual year and a

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the sooner we can get the race narrowed down, the easier it'll be to stop donald trump. >> reporter: the florida senator hoping his home state gives him the win he needs but hasn't had on the campaign trail. often looking past his republican rivals to hit democrats locked in their own clinton's speeches. >> why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else? >> reporter: clinton promising to release transcripts of her past remarks to big banks when others do, too. sanders taking her up on it. >> i am happy to release all of my paid speeches to wall street. here it is, chris. there ain't none. i don't do that. >> and the republicans could get heated tomorrow night, too, at their debate in texas. with donald trump previewing one potential line of attack against marco rubio, calling him this morning, very nice, natalie, but young and inexperienced. >> hallie jackson in las vegas for us, thank you. this morning, in an

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melania trump, wife of the republican front runner, defended her husband's controversial statements about immigration. >> what about people who feel he is, let's go down the list because the campaign started and many felt he insulted mexicans. >> no, i don't feel he insulted the mexicans. he said illegal immigrants. he didn't talk about everybody. he talked about illegal immigrants. and after few weeks, like after two weeks, giving him hard time and bashing him in the media, they turn around and said, you know what? he's right. he's right, what he's talking about. and he opened conversation that nobody did. >> but you're an immigrant. >> yes. >> do you ever think he's gone too far? >> i follow the law. i follow a law the way it's supposed to be. i never thought to stay here

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>> and you can watch that full exclusive interview with melania trump on msnbc's "morning joe." no secret that airline passengers have gotten larger over the years. while the seats on the planes seem to be shrinking. air bus might have a solution. bench seating. the manufacturer filed a patent for a an adjustable bench seat. it can accommodate obese passengers as well as small children. no word on if or when we might see the benches on a plane. back over to willie now. >> thanks a lot. if you're pouring yourself another cup of coffee to wake up, it could be your thermostat that's costing you precious hours of sleep. it caught our attention, as well as that of the wall street journal. dr. natalie azar is here with more. good to see you. >> good morning, willie. >> cooler is better? >> yeah.

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ever learned about rhythms and light, because that's important, too. research has been indicating that the temperature you're sleeping in at night is very, very important. naturally, what happens to us during the 24-hour period is our core body temperature does drop a couple degrees at night and it helps to initiate sleep. what's the magic number? around 65 degrees. >> whoa. that's cold. >> normally, people keep their ambient temperature in the home higher during the day. it's recommended to keep it lower in the nighttime. >> we talked on this show a lot about the battle of the thermostat. >> yes. >> some like it hot and some like it cold. >> yeah. >> what's the middle ground? >> probably to keep it cooler and layer up with blankets. we'll talk about socks. want to hear about socks? >> yeah. >> apparently a lot of people want to hear about socks. my mom said to let me feet breathe at night. i don't know what that means. in any event, if your feet are cold, it's good to put socks on.

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the feet to open up and let the core body temperature drop. the warm blood circulation is going to the feet. that, in turn, initiates sleep. wearing socks at night if your feet are cold are okay. >> let's go through do's and don't's. do keep your sleep schedule consistent. >> try seven days a week, wake up at the same time, go to bed at the same time. it's mainly for the sunday night syndrome. you've been sleeping in all weekend and try to go to sleep on sunday night and you can't. you wake up monday morning feeling hungover. >> don't toss and turn. if you can't go to sleep, get up? >> if you're not asleep after 20 to 30 minutes, don't lie in bed and stare at the clock. get up, read, do something soothing, listen to music. when you feel tired again, go back into bed. >> this one, we're all guilty of, don't check your phone right before you go to sleep. >> hugely important. this primarily has to do with blue light.

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rhett ka, retina, the back of your brain and impedes the secretion of mel toenne -- melatonin. according to the national sleep foundation, you need 7 to 9 hours. too little or too much can have adverse health effects. >> at 65 degrees. sounds like a recipe for something. >> i'll try it tonight. first, a stroll through the snow. next, global domination. the ground-breaking robot that's remarkable and, let's be honest, a little frightening. plus, on pop start, ellen times two. the surprise appearance that will have you seeing double. if your bag does not arrive, blame carson. carson interning at jfk airport in new york, discovering what it hi dad. uh huh. yeah...sorry about that. think about it there must be higher love down in the heart

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and in the stars above hi ted, glad you could join us, we think you're going to like these numbers. bring me a higher love i could rise above this is sheldon whose long day setting up the news starts with minor arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. shopping for an suv? well, this is the time. and your ford dealer is the place, to get 0% financing for 60 months on a ford suv. that's right. just announced. ford explorer...edge...escape... and expedition...

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e trade is all about seizing opportunity. so i'm going to take this opportunity to go off script. so if i wanna go to jersey and check out shotsy tuccerelli's portfolio, what's it to you? or i'm a scottish mason whose assets are made of stone like me heart. papa! you're no son of mine! or perhaps it's time to seize the day. don't just see opportunity, seize it! (applause) here in vineland, home of progresso, we figured out how to get rich ingredients like bacon into 22 light soups, so if you want 100 calories or less per serving without giving up rich flavor do what we do...make it progresso. pet moments are beautiful, unless you have allergies. then your eyes may see it differently. only flonase is approved to relieve both your itchy, watery eyes and congestion. no other nasal allergy spray can say that. complete allergy relief or incomplete. let your eyes decide.

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tornado warning for... northwestern stephens county in northeastern georgia... northwestern oconee county in upstate south carolina... until 845 am est at 809 am est...doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. this dangerous storm was located near toccoa...and moving northeast at 55 mph. locations impacted include... toccoa...walhalla...oconee state

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creek...mountain rest and boydville. precautionary/preparedness actions... a tornado is likely developing. seek shelter in an interior room on tornado warning for... northwestern stephens county in northeastern georgia... northwestern oconee county in upstate south carolina... until 845 am est at 809 am est...doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. this dangerous storm was located

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northeast at 55 mph. locations impacted include... toccoa...walhalla...oconee state park...long creek...mountain rest and boydville. precautionary/preparedness actions... a tornado is likely developing. seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest level of f house or office building. place as many floors and walls between you and the outside as possible. please report damaging winds...hail...or flooding to the national weather service greenville spartanburg by calling toll free...1-800-267-8101...or by posting on our facebook page...or tweet it using hashtag nwsgsp. your message should describe the event and the specific location where it occurred. tornado warning for... northwestern stephens county in northeastern georgia...

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upstate south carolina... until 845 am est at 809 am est...doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. this dangerous storm was located near toccoa...and moving northeast at 55 mph. locations impacted include... toccoa...walhalla...oconee state park...long creek...mountain rest and boydville. precautionary/preparedness actions... a tornado is likely developing. seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest level of a house or office building. place as many floors and walls between you and the outside as possible. please report damaging winds...hail...or flooding to tornado warning for...

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northeastern georgia... northwestern oconee county in upstate south carolina... until 845 am est at 809 am est...doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. this dangerous storm was located near toccoa...and moving northeast at 55 mph. locations impacted include... toccoa...walhalla...oconee state park...long creek...mountain rest and boydville. precautionary/preparedness actions... a tornado is likely developing. seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest level of a house or

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floors and walls between you and the outside as possible. please report damaging winds...hail...or flooding to the national weather service greenville spartanburg by calling toll free...1-800-267-8101...or by posting on our facebook page...or tweet it using hashtag nwsgsp. your message should describe the event and the specific location where it occurred. tornado warning for... northwestern stephens county in

carolina... until 845 am est at 809 am est...doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. this dangerous storm was located near toccoa...and moving northeast at 55 mph. locations impacted include... toccoa...walhalla...oconee state park...long creek...mountain rest and boydville. precautionary/preparedness actions... a tornado is likely developing. seek shelter in an interior room on the lowest level of a house or office building. place as many floors and walls between you and the outside as possible. please report damaging winds...hail...or flooding to the national weather service greenville spartanburg by calling toll free...1-800-267-8101...or by posting on our facebook

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nwsgsp. your message should describe the event and the occurred. breaking: tornado warning for oconee county until 8:45 a.m. doppler radar indicated a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado. the storm was located near toccoa and moving northeast at 55 mph blowing away from the radar. the wind here in the green is blowing toward our radar, so we do indeed have strong rotation in coney county. this could be a tornado on the ground heading toward highway 76, just north of holly springs and long creek.

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dale: if you're in this area, and you have had visual contact with the storm or your hearing tremendous went from the storm, contact the local law enforcement authorities, the national weather service we will continue to track this storm as we use all of the e fferent functions of live super doppler for hd, another image of this storm that is now approaching long creek, holly springs area, traveling at 55 miles an hour. now moving from stevens county and folks along highway 76, watch out, here comes the storm as it attracts to the northeast, again, traveling at 55 moldenhauer.

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downstairs always safer than upstairs, and away from windows and doors. >> dale, we can slice the storm and half and show you what we are talking about. radar continues to indicate some rotation here in coney county, right around highway 76 here. let's put that rotation back on. you can see here as the storm is moving through the area, it has quite a punch with it. if you are in northern akoni a county -- oconee county, you do not want to be traveling because this has intense rotation as it moves highway 76, north of westminster. the good news is, dale, a lot of the kids or already at school, so they are hopefully in their safe races right now, and you, too, if you're traveling, give the storm time to get through. long creek in holly springs, that storm is going to go right in between you two.

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us, the national weather service has issued a tornado warning for northern stevens county and the impact into oconee county. it is traveling to the northeast. let's go back to the projection to give people an idea of where the storm's, chris, and the direction, because we have seen and stevens county, oconee county, and right now on the cap between long creek and holly springs moving toward the northeast very quickly. 55 miles an hour. that is obviously covering about fast-moving storm. this tornado warning in effect for another 18 minutes until 8:45 as we continue e track its path through oconee county. should you have witnessed the storm or seen a tornado on the ground, call the national weather service, call your local police and let them know exactly what you have seen and where it is going. we will continue to monitor that

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chris: oconee state park the national weather service is saying as under the impact of the storm third we were saying this as it continues to move into northern oconee county. let's turn the velocity back on. it gives us an accurate depiction of what is going on with the service with the wind, where it is spinning, where it is not spinning. can see the green colors indicating that winds are blowing toward the radar, anderson county i-85, and the red colors indicating wind blowing away from the radars. that is the concern. the latest radar sweep just north of holly spring, we can slice this in half and look at where that rotation is, so coming back out here on the screen, let me show you two things here because it is important to note where that rotation is. is it in the middle part of the atmosphere, the higher parts of

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right now, you have got the green meeting be read from the middle part of the atmosphere all the way down to the bottom. it is not just a funnel cloud, 20,000 feet, but it is 10,000 feet and below, and that tells us the rotation is trying to reach the ground from a funnel cloud if not a tornado. dale: we have friends in a county state park -- in oconee state park. let's go back for those who have just joined us -- the national weather service issued a tornado warning for stephens county and oconee county earlier this hour, and out as fast moving from stevens county now as you can see into oconee county near the long creek area. we take another look at the direction of the storm, and it has been tracking to the northeast as expected. right now, it is showing up on live super doppler 4 hd, you can see on the screen, we can identify some of those towns

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her let's zoom in once again, chris, and show the communities being impacted right now. it is right on highway 76 in oconee county. it is just passing over highway 76, continuing on a northeasterly path, so between long creek in holly springs on 76 is where we are seeing the tornado or severe thunderstorm with the rotation indication continuing to head to the northeast, so coming up before long, whetstone may be in the path of the storm as well. folks and walhalla, keep an eye out because this may pass to the west of you. right now, as you can see, breast town come along creek, holly springs, potentially being impacted by this -- right now, as you can see, breastbrasstown. chris: brasstown, you are

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we can zoom in here on live super doppler 4 hd. so right in the downtown community of brasstown. this is not in a line, and that is the concern, dale, as the cells get in line by themselves, we have so much spin in the atmosphere. looking back toward gainesville, that is a concern. dale: just when we thought we had maybe dodged a bullet with not having severe weather in a region because so much of the synergy swung to the south of us, now the last couple of thunderstorms that have developed late morning now starting to impact our area. that looks kind of ominous to south of days phil north of i-85, so we will continue to watch -- of gainesville, north of i-85, so we will continue to watch.

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oconee county as we continue to follow the storm on a northeasterly direction traveling very quickly along highway 76 in oconee county moving to the northeast. at last report traveling at 55 miles an hour. chris: yeah, dale, we're watching all of these cells. the tornado warning gffected northern oconee county is the one to watch. this line to back toward atlanta is trying to rotate just south of gainesville. that is just north of i-85. we know where commerce is pure in one county over from commerce. let's get you to the storm that is now in a oconee county. we have had strong indications that we had rotation not only at the high levels of the atmosphere but also at the surface. that just means it is not only a funnel cloud but it is also trying to touch to the ground, so you folks in salem -- 8:50 is when the heaviest part of the storm will be over you. roslyn, north carolina, 9:12,

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let's get back to the velocity. this shows you where the wind is spinning, where it is not. we're not seeing a strong indication that we have got locations -- rotations like we did before. the wind is going away from the radar in the red, the green means it is going toward the radar. so i fashioned just like this, you have got rotation just like that, south of whetstone. it will go just west of you, while halle, just -- walhalla, just west of you. if you are in whetstone, take some shelter. dale: folks living along highway 28th, be prepared for the possibility of severe weather, tornado warning, let's back out so they can get a better view of this storm, chris, and as we talk about it and the direction it is traveling to the northeast. here, you can see the cell right

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and westminster traveling to the northeast. so impacting highway 28 before long. this tornado warning still in effect until 8:45 issued by the national weather service. it has been followed up after the northeast, traveling at 55 miles an hour. that is a fast-moving storm. so often this occurs this time of year with tornadoes. we talked to people about where is a safe place to go. you want to go quickly to an interior room in your home, a closet, a bathroom -- especially without windows -- and you want to seek shelter. lower floors are better than upper floors. a 55 miles an hour storm, you can imagine a car coming down the road, you will hear it come quickly and leave quickly, but you need to seek shelter if you're in the path of the storm, along highway 76 moving to the northeast. folks in walhalla, keep an ear out to her this looks to be traveling to the west of you, on highway 76, the core of it, as

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chris: we're watching constant medication from the national weather service. they have got storm spotters out and about in the area. the area in northern oconee county, gord state parks, watching that as the storm is racing rapidly off to the north and eased. the good news is, we are seeing signs that the rotation is weakening. at one time, it was very strong along highway 76, western oconee county, moving just north of walhalla right now, just south of whetstone. we are able to see some rotation there. primarily the rotation the atmosphere, taking off the radar in the rain. earlier, we have these brighter motion to show you where the moved on through the area. it looks like, dale, right in this timeframe, that purple

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rotations. i would bet it is just west of holly springs off of highway 76. thankfully, the tornado has since weakened, but still, you have got rotation in the atmosphere just north of holly springs, it is moving toward highway 28, so these storms are not likely out west where you get the long track tornadoes. they are the kinds that would touchdown a tornado, lift, and then touchdown again. that is in a way a little bit more dangerous -- dale: because of the unpredictability. chris: unpredictable, yes. dale: that is a good explanation. here in the south, when the national weather service picks up rotation in a severe thunderstorm, and it has the potential to develop a funnel cloud and oh tornado when it touches ground, we do not know exactly when that is going to happen. it could travel for miles before it finally does, and it could be short-lived, or it could last longer, but we have to give people a warning in advance of

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exactly when that final cloud may come out of that severe thunderstorm and make contact with the ground. it could be anywhere along that path, so that is why you will hear us and see us having the earnings because of the -- giving these warnings because of the unpretty debility. hopefully it does not, but we want to give people advanced warning. chris: we are watching this rotation, dale. you can see it looks messy, the reds and the greens next to each other, but we can slice this in half right here in northern oconee county. thankfully, it looks like we're not seeing that low-level rotation like we had earlier. you can see in the top parts of the atmosphere, mid layers, right around 20,000 feet, you have got some rotation in here in a this area here, but as we look at the lower levels of the atmosphere, this area not seeing as much rotation, so that is some good news here. we can flip this camera around,

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you can see we have got some rotation on all sides of the storm, but it looks like primarily that rotation is not at the surface, although just west right here, it seems in the center part of the storm, we are able to see a little bit of rotation making its way down to the surface. it is a small rotation, but they are just east of whetstone, it looks like right in that area, seeing some rotation there, dale. dale: should you experience any damage from the storm or experience or see a tornado funnel cloud touching the ground, contact the national weather service and relay that information to them so that they have a historical record of it. contact the local police authorities, let them know what you have seen or experienced. obviously, if you have had any damage, let them know that as well. let's go back and show that storm with live super doppler 4 hd.

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check and see the latest direction and latest location of that storm. we are in oconee county traveling to the northeast, as you can see. some of the communities around the area, we see whetstone, maybe to the west of the storm, it is coming very close. ahead of the storm, we are seeing to get post and rico and a few other areas that could be impacted by this. -- heavy winds, heavy down pours of rain. the national weather service issued a tornado warning earlier. we watch the line of storms back to atlanta. chris: dale, that is the concern of the lines try to go out into their own cells. you can see in gainesville, to the west, it is taking a similar

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-warned of storm is reported. a trained weathervane spotter reported a funnel cloud northwest of walhalla. a tornado may develop anytime. five miles northwest of walhalla near oconee state park, it is now moving at 50 miles an hour, so folks, if you're in oconee county, your kids are safe at school right now. the teachers know what to do. they get them in the hallway, kids are trained to do these drills a couple of times a year, but you want to stay off the road. let the storm pass. it is moving rapidly at 55 miles an hour. there is a funnel cloud northwest of walhalla. let's zoom in to some of the cities as they are impacted by

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we saw some intense rotation, pushing into the areas just south of longbottom for us. dale: the first age of a tornado is a funnel cloud, the v-shaped cloud that is trying to make his way down to the surface. sometimes they come close to call that just a funnel cloud, and it receives back into the cloud to it when it comes down and makes contact, then it becomes a tornado officially. so i funnel cloud, sometimes people interchange those words, but a funnel cloud was an almost tornado when it makes contact and does damage on the surface than it is what we call a tornado. chris: looking at street level, highway 28 at brookside acres road, that looks to be where the rotation is strongest right now. highway 28, zooming in a little closer with that acres road intersection is where we're

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we are dry in most of the county. this tornado warned storm is just north of walhalla in oconee county. that is the concern. we have got an incredible amount of rotation. if the storms get out of a line and into what we call a discrete cell by themselves, they are able to rotate and contest on a tornado at anytime. dale: look a much territory has been covered. traveling at 55, now 50 miles an hour. that sell where we started getting reports when it was in stephens county, and now it is in northern walhalla. northern oconee county heading up toward possibly transylvania. it looks like it has we can akened in size. again, still a tomato warning for a few more minutes until 8:45 for folks in oconee county as we continue to track that storm. watch these lines of thunderstorms to our southwest from highway 985 back toward

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we are still seeing some pretty strong activity. these can produce strong, gusty winds, frequent lightning, large hail can be associated with these thunderstorms as we continue to march to the northeast into our coverage area. chris: dale, we are watching this closely all day long. the severe threat, highest threat is just east of here, i-77 corridor overturned charlotte -- over toward charlotte, a high risk east of raleigh. the storm is arriving during the morning hours here in our area, so therefore the atmosphere is not as unstable. once that storm arrives over toward raleigh, it will be the middle of the day when storms are at their peak because of the heating of the day. so we are getting spared from the worst of the storm because it is arriving here in the morning hours. our commitment here at news 4 is to get you through the storm.

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until 8:45. we will see if they drop the warning at that time. dale: you can see this boxed area, the storm quickly moving to the northeast, and it pretty much stayed within those parameters, so it has been taking on the northeasterly path. moving into parts of macon county and transylvania county. right now, we're watching that storm near highway 28 working its way to the northeast. we will continue watching this over the next few minutes. the tornado warning, issued by the national weather service, was until 8:45. we will see if that is allowed to expire, or if others may develop in the next little bit. chris: dale, that is the concern here we have this one cell that looks like it is thankfully weakening heading into the mouths mr. reign of oconee county. you have got the high elevations in the northern part of the county. the circulation in the storm

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becoming increasingly concerned about this ceell in gainesville as it attracts to the east on highway -- it looks like highway 23 there moving into have russian county -- moving into haversham county. good news here, dale, they are expiring the warning at oconee county at 8:45. dale: we will continue to watch this line of storms, gainesville getting hit. should there be more warnings were our area, we will come back on a give you the latest information through the morning area stay with us right here on wyff news 4 for the latest weather, they all have different needs and nutritional requirements. one of the important things to remember is often times they're willing pets. they live such a long time, that you need to make plans for them when they pass, potentially. >> no kidding. >> sophie is nine years old but will probably live to 70 or 80.

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>> yeah. >> you need to make sure you understand, this is an animal that requires a long commitment. >> and like the talking thing. >> right. >> i used to have guinea pigs when i was a kid and they were easy to take care of. >> one of the easiest to take care of. they do best when bonded with another guinea pig. the one thing about guinea pigs is you do want to be careful with them with children. they're not as fragile as hamsters and gerbils but they're small. kids need to handle them carefully. >> and they can bite. >> all animals can, yeah. >> last but not least, fishsh i had many fish growing up. many, many, many. >> what does that mean? >> many goldfish. by the way, they're not that easy to take care of, fish. >> they can be. i don't think they're quite as easy as people think. unfortunately, people sometimes think they can go to a store and get a goldfish or some other fish and put it in a bowl and just -- it'll thrive. it's not the case. you need to give them an appropriate environment.

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make sure that it has the right levels of salt in it. not too much ammonia. if you have a saltwater tank, obviously. i'd say some of the easiest fish for beginnings are swordtails and gum byppies. even those, talk to somebody to get more details. >> figure out how much to feed them. it's more complicated as you go up from goldfish. >> yeah. >> thanks so much. thanks for bringing our friends over. we appreciate it. >> you don't like the guinea pigs. >> i'm a little scared. i'm embarrassed to say that. just a little bit. coming up, junk food to joy food, joy bauer gives you comfort foods.

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hmm hmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together [ cheering ] i've got some real estate here in my bag counting the cars on the new jersey turnpike they've all comom to look for america [ cheers and applause ] all come to look for america all come to look for america all come to look for america

back at 8:47. imagine eating enchiladas, pizza, brownies and more, but they help you lose weight.

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but joy bauer says it is possible. in her new cook book, "from junk food to joy food," she transforms hundreds of dishes. today's menu, buffalo wings and mack mac and cheese. >> mac and cheese is the ult mall -- ultimate comfort food. one bowl can be 1,000 calories. we can do better than that. check it out. mac and cheese. skim milk, soy sauce, onion powder, paprika, black pepper and hot sauce. mix skim milk with cornstarch. bring to a boil. add reduced fat cheddar with butter. remove bay leaf. stir in macaroni. cover for ten minutes to let it firm. the junk food version, 1,310

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the joy food version at 419 calories is in. that's a savings of 891 calories. next up, fiery buffalo wings. a typical order with the blue cheese dip costs you 1,200 calories and more fat than you want to know about. instead, enjoy the same, yummy flavor for less. buffalo wings with blue cheese dip. chicken tenders, hot sauce, paprika paprika. bake at 375 for 15 minutes. blue cheese dip. add non-fat greek yogurt, blue cheese crumbles, onion powder and garlic powder. mix. junk food version at 1,190 calories is out. the joy food version at just 170 calories is most definitely in. that's a savings of more than

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worker. >> delicious. >> i love the buffalo chicken. it is amazing. >> did you see how simple it was to make? >> tastes like wings. >> i have to say this, this is our book because all of the recipes within the book have pretty much come from our viewers. they challenged me to make things over. barbecue ribs, pizza, cheese burgers, chocolate milk shakes. i have a chocolate peanut butter cup in there. >> what's on the cauliflower? >> this is a bonus recipe. it's on the website, if people go to today.com. all i do is take cauliflower and dip it in flour. i roast it, douse it in hot sauce and roast it a couple more minutes. >> so good. >> mac and cheese, tell me about that. >> really good. >> isn't it? >> you don't notice a difference. >> i didn't want to mess with mac and cheese but throwing vegetables in. i kept it straight forward. i had a lot of out of the box,

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>> like the soy sauce, onion powder powder. it augments the flavor. >> even the bay leaf brings it to life. my ultimate compliment was my daughter, who is a mac and cheese addict, and she gave it a two thumbs up. that's when i knew it was okay to bring it on the show. >> all these things in their junk form, brought it to the healthy form. >> the idea is people can indulge in their favorite goodies any night of the week and still lose weight, lower blood pressure, up their energy. >> we love you. >> we love you the truth. when we don't like it, you hear it. this is delicious. >> oh, yeah. >> so happy for you. congrats on the book. "from junk food to joy food." get these recipes at the web exclusive for cauliflower and buffalo wings on the website.

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thank you, joy. do you think when you are president you'll be paid as much as if you were a man-male... this is one ofofhe jobs where they have to pay you the same. but there are so many examples where that doesn't happen. i'm going to do everything i can to make sure every woman in every job gets paid the same... ...as the men who are doing that job. i'm hillary clinton

we're back at 8:53. still freaking out about how good this is. we have birthdays. >> many reasons to celebrate. we'll celebrate all the folks across the country. starting off, 100th birthday to jean from new york. i love that she's known to family and friends as toots.

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junk food and dancing. 102 years old, served as an auto mechanic during world war ii. thank you for your service, mcwaters. 100th birthday to miller from florida. she loves collecting porcelain birds. marry from minnesota. 105 years old. she says the secret to living longer, just don't think about it. well said. happy 100th birthday to fred randall from new york. years. want to be in a band with him. mary hastings from south bend, indiana, loves notre dame football. happy anniversary to the schultze. the secret to a long marriage, out. 75 years later, it is working for them. congratulations.

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their milestone birthday or anniversary, 75 years or more, head to today.com/celebrate. send a photo, as w wl. coming up, what's next hour? >> viola dayvis is in the house. >> big deal for us. also, live performance from >> love it.

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>> going back in for more. dale: good morning. it is 8:57 as we take a look at live super doppler 4 hd. that storm has now weakened. it was a tornado warning earlier. and rush across oconee county and weakened. we're watching other storms in northeastern georgia heading in that direction cured a good bit of action, as you can see, raven county into stevens, habersham county, black into the clarksville area. you will see more scattered

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getting windy they served our country. our country should serve them better. bernie sanders cracked the gridlock with john mccain to help clean up the mess at the v.a. and strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders has always stood with our veterans, and that's why he'll never rush to put our men and women in harm's way. judgment. integrity. bernie.

>> it's "live! with kelly & michael." today, from the hit series, "empire," taraji p. henson. and jaime lannister from "game of thrones," nikolaj coster-waldau. plus, another audience member could walk away with some big bucks when we continue our "oscar countdown games." all next on "live." [captioning made possible by disney-abc domestic television] >> and now, here are your emmy award-winning co-hosts, kelly ripa and michael strahan!

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kelly: hi! geez and aw-shucks. hey, it's wednesday, february 24, 2016. and guess what today is. today is my baby's birthday. [applause] michael: he's no longer a baby. he's a man. kelly: he's a teenager. my last one, my last one. he went ahead and he did it. he grew up. michael: it happens. kelly: he promised me he wouldn't. michael: well, he still sits on your lap at wrestling matches, technically. kelly: it's not just my son's birthday, schully's nephew and my son was born at the next door